Avatar: Book Three: Zutara
by Wolfpelt
Summary: Apparently Zuko isn't entirely bad, and Katara builds up trust for him. Together, they set up a plan to help defeat the Fire Nation. But what happens when business turns into romance?
1. The Aftermath

**So… I know that this type of plot has been done before, though I've hardly read any of those stories. You know… The "Zuko isn't bad and pairs up with Katara" ones? Yeah, that's kinda what this is like, just…it's different. It kinda takes a while. Please enjoy! .**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. If I did, Katara and Zuko would've paired up a long time ago.**

Katara frowned bitterly as she waterbended from a nearby lake and dropped it into a basin that she had brought with her. As she finished, she picked it up and headed back to the camp that she, her friends, and now the Earth King, had set up and were staying at. She didn't like staying there; in her opinion, it was too close to Ba Sing Se. But they couldn't travel far with Aang's bad condition, and Katara needed to stop by a large body of water to make sure she could heal Aang again, in case anything bad happened. _Like those dirty, vile firebenders coming along_, she thought angrily.

As she returned to camp, her arrival was announced by Toph, who had been in a particularly bad mood ever since the capture of her friend, Iroh. "Sugar Queen's back." Katara didn't say anything. She could tell Toph was being rude –at least more so than usual- because she was worried. In fact, everybody was worried. Toph about Iroh, Sokka about Suki, Kuei and Aang about the Earth Kingdom, and her about Aang's injury.

Sokka joined in with Toph. "Did you have fun with the magic water?" he asked sourly. Katara felt her face redden, yet once again, she didn't say a thing.

"Guys, lay off her, will you?" came the voice of Aang from next to Appa where he lay. "It's not like you're doing anything." Toph pouted at this and Sokka looked away angrily. Katara looked at them sadly, realizing that what they really needed was to know that their friends/loved ones were safe, not harsh words. Slowly she walked over to Aang and kneeled down.

"You feeling okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he smiled weakly. "It's not like I'm going to get worse within the last five minutes that you asked me."

She smiled sadly back at him. "I know, but I'm just…" She didn't finish, as Aang finished for her.

"Worried. I understand. Aren't we all?"

She nodded. "Yes. And until we defeat the Fire Lord, we'll all remain worried." Aang looked away, and she remembered it was a bad topic to bring up at the moment. "Come on," she said softly. "I need you to turn over so I can see your wound. See if it needs any more healing."

He obeyed, and turned over without a word. She traced her finger along where the lightning that had nearly killed him had struck. She had managed to heal him, yet not without leaving several scars. There was only so much the Oasis water could do.

"Is it okay?" he murmured, his face buried into the long fur along Appa's tail.

To her relief, it was fine. "Yeah," she said. "I don't think we'll have to worry about it again. But," she added as Aang turned over again. "If it does start to hurt there, tell me. Then we may have to worry."

He smiled at her again. "You worry too much, Katara."

She hugged him. "I can't help it, Aang." A tear leaked from her eye as she realized once again that she could have lost her best friend just a week ago.

----

"Katara," Aang whispered, shaking her shoulder lightly. "Katara, wake up." Katara rolled over on to her side. Two weeks had passed since that fateful night that Ba Sing Se had been taken over by the Fire Nation, and Aang was already back on his feet.

"Aang," she yawned. "What are you doing up? It's still dark."

"Well," he said, blushing slightly. "I figured I still need to learn waterbending, injured or not, and it would be good to start off easy again." He looked at the moon. "And night is the best time for that."

"But you already know how to waterbend," she murmured, burying her head back into her pillow.

"It doesn't matter," Aang insisted. "I need to _master_ it if I'm ever going to defeat the Fire Lord. Especially since I'm not going to have a firebending teacher."

Katara sat up suddenly. "Don't speak like that, Aang. We'll find somebody. I'm sure we will-"

"No, Katara. We won't." Aang looked away bitterly. "They're all loyal to the Fire Nation- except for Iroh and Jeong Jeong. But Iroh's in jail and it doesn't help that Jeong Jeong seems to have vanished off the face of the earth." He looked back at her, his eyes filled with determination. "I'll just have to go with what little Jeong Jeong taught me."

Katara looked at him sadly. "C'mon, Aang. You still want that waterbending lesson?"

He nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Katara." As they left camp, Aang said, "Waterbending seems to be one of the only things that cheers me up right now. Earthbending lessons haven't been exactly…pleasant lately."

"Has Toph been going tough on you?" He nodded. "Well, you can't really blame her. Iroh was her friend. She's worried about him."

He looked away from her. "All this worrying. It's all my fault. If I had managed to stop Ba Sing Se's takeover-"

"Don't blame yourself, Aang!" She placed a hand on his shoulder, her eyes filled with despair for her friend. "You did better than anyone else could've done. You were braver, stronger-"

He pulled away from her. "But I still could've done better." He walked away silently toward the shimmering lake. Katara sniffed, trying to hold back tears. It pained her to see any of her friends like this. In fact, it pained her to see almost anybody like this. Even Zuko, for a short while. For a moment, it seemed like he was going to join their side. For a moment, he almost seemed good. She looked at the ground, her hate for him boiling angrily. "I thought you had changed," she spat. Then she headed towards the lake and Aang.

----

"I _have_ changed!" Zuko yelled back at the waterbender. _Why won't you believe me? I have! I just can't tell you._ She shot more water back at him, and he copied her move, only using fire instead._ Stop_, he thought. _I don't want to have to hurt you._

Then there was a flash of blinding light, and he saw, in the air, lightning flash. Lightning that had come from his sister. And as the motionless body fell towards the ground, he saw that it was not, in fact, the Avatar. It was the waterbender. _I thought you had changed…_

Zuko woke up, gasping for breath and his heart pounding furiously. As he looked around the room he was staying in –red Fire Nation flags everywhere, candlesticks, a comfortable bed- he calmed down a bit. _Only a dream. It was only a dream…_

He nervously smoothed back his hair, which was now tightly fitted into a small topknot. He stood up and wrapped his cloak, a long black and red one, around himself, and opened the door of his room. Slowly he stepped outside into the cold night air and climbed the stairs on to the deck of the ship. There he stood, looking out at the ocean as the ship slowly drifted on its way to the Fire Nation. The captain was still awake, and so was the person who steered the boat at night. He could see the faint light coming from the front of the ship.

"Zuko?" he heard his sister ask as she came up the stairs, obviously having followed him. "What are you doing up this late?"

Zuko continued to stare out at the ocean. "Bad dream," he answered. "Nothing much."

Azula placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. "Another one? Was it about Uncle?" she asked softly.

Zuko looked down. He couldn't possibly tell her what he had really been dreaming about. "Yes," he lied. "It was about Uncle."

She shook her head in what seemed to be a sympathetic way. "Zuko, you mustn't think about him. He is a traitor. A dirty traitor who tried to turn you against your own nation. A nation you would do anything for."

He looked away. "Alright, Azula. You're right. It's just…" He paused for dramatic effect. "…I trusted him so much. It's just so hard to believe…"

"It's hard for all of us to believe, Zuko," she said. _Oh, the dirty liar_, Zuko thought. "We all trusted Uncle so much. I mean, the Dragon of the West. Who would've thought?" Zuko mentally rolled his eyes. _Gee, I dunno. Maybe the entire world… And maybe, just maybe, that was why you tried to kill him so many times._

"Azula," he gulped. "Did you ever think that…_I_ was a traitor?"

She laughed. "Of course not, Zuko. I always knew you'd return to us someday."

"And how about father?"

Azula's face suddenly grew serious. "Father, well… He's different. But I promise you, Zuko, he'll be happy to see you now. Now that you've proven your loyalty again." She yawned. "Now go back to bed, Zuko. It's late." And with that, she turned and walked down the stairs.

_He'll be happy to see me? _Zuko thought disdainfully. _Somehow…I highly doubt that. And somehow, I doubt that you're happy to see me either._

**So…that's it so far… Hope you enjoyed chapter one! Please R&R!**


	2. Worth Dying For

**Heh… New chapter. Thanks so much for all the reviews! They mean a lot! Anyway, hope you enjoy the new chapter…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. If I did, the season finale would have turned out_ way_ different…**

"C'mon, Aang," Katara said, slightly annoyed. "You need to put less pressure on the water. If you put on too much, it'll slide out of your grasp."

Aang groaned, "I'm trying, Katara, but it feels like if I put less on it, it'll slide away anyway."

Katara took one of his hands in hers, causing the water he was bending to fall to the ground. "That's alright, Aang. We'll just try this another time. When you're less stressed."

He pulled his hand away from hers and snapped, "I'm not stressed!"

Katara shook her head sadly. "Maybe you should get some rest…"

"No!" Aang exclaimed. "I've been resting since the takeover of Ba Sing Se!" He turned away from her. "Resting's not going to help me defeat the Fire Lord."

She sighed, "Is that all you've been thinking about, Aang? Come on, you need to have some fun." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "And not be thinking about this all the time. You're just a kid, Aang. You need to play, to have fun-"

"None of which is going to help me," he said sadly. "I'm going to practice some more."

Katara sighed, realizing there was nothing she could do to persuade him. "Okay, Aang, so back to waterbending…"

----

Zuko walked down into the musty prison hold on the ship. As he searched the cells for a certain Dragon of the West, he heard coughing coming from one of the cells further down the corridor. _Must be him_, Zuko thought to himself. He walked down the corridor until he came to the cell an old firebender sat in, coughing furiously.

"Uncle…" He reached an arm through the bars tentatively. Iroh glanced at him unhappily, then looked away. "Uncle," Zuko said again. "Talk to me…please." The old man did not speak.

Zuko sighed and turned away. "I know you think that what I did in Ba Sing Se was wrong," he muttered. "But it wasn't." He felt the temperature in the cell rise considerably, and he whipped around to see his enraged uncle standing up and glaring at him through the bars.

"Wasn't wrong?" Iroh yelled. "What you did, Zuko, was betray the Earth Kingdom! You took refuge in it, and it protected you, gave you what you needed, and you turned your back on it! You betrayed _me_, Zuko! And most importantly," he added, his voice quieting slightly. "You betrayed yourself. All this time, you were going through a change. You were finally figuring out the difference between right and wrong. And I believed in you." He turned away, ashamed of his nephew. "And when you made that decision in Ba Sing Se, when you had come to the crossroads of your destiny, you chose the wrong one! And that, Zuko, that was how you betrayed yourself. You betrayed everything you believed in, just for what you thought was honor."

Zuko looked away sadly. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Uncle, but…I'm confident in my choice." He turned to leave. "Goodbye, Uncle." _I wish I could tell you. I really wish I could. But, for some reason…I can't._

----

Katara couldn't sleep that night. It worried her to see Aang acting the way he was. She wanted to help him, yet she knew that he would be too stubborn to let her.

She turned over on to her other side uncomfortably. _Why did this have to happen? He's acting the same way he did while Appa was lost._ She shut her eyes tightly and silently cursed what had happened in Ba Sing Se. She cursed everything- from the Dai Li to Azula to Mai and Ty Lee to even Zuko. _Zuko._ Of all the people she had cursed, Zuko got the most. _To think, Aang could've _died_ because of him._ _If I had been foolish enough to waste that Oasis water on him…_

_Maybe he would've joined our side_, she thought with sudden shock.

----

Zuko examined his face in the mirror, tracing his scar with two of his fingers. _This could've been gone_, he thought miserably. _But then again, maybe it was for the better. If it were healed, Azula never would've trusted me. And then…then my plan wouldn't work._ Despite the fact that he wanted to view this as a good thing, he still felt upset at the thought of it. _This could've been gone…_

As he walked over to his bed and lay down on it, staring at the ceiling, a certain phrase that he had never heard before, yet sounded strangely familiar, came to mind. _Fighting the Fire Nation is the only path to freedom. And freedom is worth dying for. _

----

Katara looked over at a sleeping Aang sadly, wondering when he would act, once again, as the playful kid she had befriended. He had grown up too fast… _And freedom is worth dying for…_

**The second chapter, in my opinion, didn't turn out as good as the first one, but that tends to happen to me a lot. For those of you who are confused about the end, the phrase was originally said by the leader of the Resistance in "Return to Omashu". Zuko thought of it, although he hadn't heard it before, because he's sacrificed a lot, and has put his life at stake…a lot. Katara thought about it when she looked at Aang because she feels that the little kid inside of him has died due to the fact that he's the Avatar. Kinda weird, but…yeah…**

**Anyway, please R&R!**


	3. Dumplings, Laundry, and a Mask

**Heh… Sorry for the lack of updating, guys! I was fairly busy the past few days. Anyway, because I put up such a short chapter last time, I'm putting up a longer chapter this time. Yeah, so, anyway… Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, the Blue Spirit would still exist. (Blue Spirit 3)**

"Hey, Katara," Aang said shyly as Katara hung up the laundry. "I was wondering…"

"Yeah, Aang?" Katara hung up Sokka's shirt and wrinkled her nose. "Oh, ew! No washing's ever going to get rid of _that_ smell!" She turned back to Aang. "Sorry. What was it you were saying?"

"Well," Aang twiddled his thumbs nervously. "See, there's this river nearby, and I thought it would be better for my training if I trained with tougher river water, not calm lake water."

"Mm hm," Katara murmured, hanging up Sokka's socks, which were even more odiferous than his shirt. "Sounds like a good idea. Where is this river, exactly?"

"RightoutsideBaSingSe," Aang muttered quickly, hoping she couldn't understand him.

"_WHAT?_" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "Aang, don't tell me you've forgotten what happened the last time we were near Ba Sing Se!"

"But Katara, we were _inside_ Ba Sing Se! The river leads out of it!"

Katara turned away and resumed doing her work. "As your waterbending teacher, I forbid you to go there," she said. "Let alone I teach you there. And if you ask me to, you will only get a refusal."

Aang shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said, walking away. Katara raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Where are you going?"

"To the river."

There was silence before Katara finally sighed, "Nothing I can do will stop you, huh?" Aang shook his head. "Fine. Just let me finish hanging up the clothes." Aang nodded an turned away. As he walked back to camp, he heard behind him, "Oh, ew! I _told_ Sokka to do his _own_ underwear!"

A smell worse than rotting fish reached Aang's nostrils.

----

"So how exactly did you find out about this river?" Katara asked Aang as they foraged through trees toward, to Katara's displeasure, Ba Sing Se.

Aang shrugged. "Sokka and Kuei recently went to a market nearby, and they bought a map. I was looking for some river nearby that I could practice my waterbending on, and voila! There it is!"

She glanced at him awkwardly, holding a low hanging branch up for him to walk under. "There's a market nearby?"

"Yeah," Aang said. "It's controlled by the Fire Nation, but nobody's going to suspect Sokka, and nobody from the Fire Nation, besides Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai, have ever seen the Earth King before."

Katara nodded. "Is it safe to assume that they're all back at the Fire Nation by now?"

Aang shrugged again. "Possibly. But we can't be too certain." He pulled a branch aside to reveal, not far off, a rushing river. In the distance, Katara could see the large walls of Ba Sing Se, which were now covered with banners revealing the Fire Nation symbol. "But we still need to be careful," he finished.

----

"Zuzu," Azula said, tapping her nails on the table they were eating lunch at. "I'm feeling…troubled."

Zuko nodded, not taking his eyes off the roasted dumplings he was eating. He tried several times to pick them up with his chopsticks, but they kept sliding out of his grasp. He silently cursed the dumplings. He gave it a few more tries, before finally stabbing one of the dumplings with a single chopstick and shoving it into his mouth. Azula cringed at the sight, but continued anyway, "The Earth King told me something…interesting. He said that the rebels were going to attack the Fire Nation on the day of the Solar Eclipse."

This got Zuko's attention. He placed his chopsticks gently on the table, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said, "So what're you going to do about it?"

Azula bit her lip. "That's the troubling part. I don't know. It's really up to father to decide, but none of us know if the Avatar is alive or not. He alone could change the outcome of that battle."

"But you killed the Avatar," Zuko pointed out, confused. "And even if you didn't, he must've died later. Azula, you stuck him with _lightning_."

"But he was traveling with a waterbender," Azula muttered. "And certain waterbenders have the ability to heal." _I know_, Zuko thought. "For all we know, she could've healed him. He could be alive and well right now."

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Zuko asked once again.

Azula smirked evilly. "It's not a plan…yet, but I've an idea." She stood up, wiping crumbs off her pants. "Why not take the first strike? Catch them when they least expect it, kill the Avatar, conquer the world. All in one battle." She started to leave. "Smart plan?"

"Brilliant." Azula left the room, and Zuko stabbed at another dumpling. _I'll have to record that later_, he thought. _The rebels need to know. They need to win._ He stuffed the dumpling in his mouth and chewed nervously. _But will they really trust the word of the prince of the Fire Nation?_

----

Katara entertained herself while Aang was practicing waterbending by creating little spouts of water in the river, which often resulted in fish flying through the air. Another one flew up, and landed on the ground beside her. It wiggled around, unhappy to be on the dry sand, and she picked it up and sent it back into the water.

"Will you stop doing that?" Aang called from where he was practicing. "It's breaking my concentration." Currently he was trying to hold a wave in place, but every now and then, a side of the wave would fall down and he would have to lift it back up again.

"Sorry," Katara whispered, smiling mischievously. She turned back to the water and lay down, her head resting on her hands as she stared into the river.

Something caught her attention. Something was swimming- no, floating toward the surface in a way no ordinary fish would. She peered closer in. It was a…head? Her heart skipped a beat at the horrifying thought, then relaxed as she realized it wasn't a head. It was…a mask.

Katara easily brought the mask to the surface using waterbending, and lifted it out of the water to study it. It was a fairly unusual mask. It was wooden, painted blue with white around the eyes. And it didn't look like a human's face. It looked like something else. Like…like a… Katara couldn't think of what it looked like.

"Aang!" she called. "Come see this!" Aang dropped the wave he was holding up, relieved to have an excuse to stop.

"What is it, Katara?" She showed him the mask and he stopped in his tracks, staring at it.

"Aang?" Aang didn't look away. "Aang!" Katara waved her hand in front of him, and he snapped out of his daze.

"Hm? Oh, uh, yes, uh…what, Katara?"

She stared at him. "Maybe…we should go back now, Aang," she said. "You look tired." Aang nodded, glancing one more time at the odd mask.

"You're right. It's been a long day."

Katara placed her arm around his shoulders. "Sure has, Aang. Now c'mon. Let's get back to camp."

**So… Hope you guys enjoyed! I tried adding some humor to the story near the beginning, but as it turns out, I don't really have a very good sense of humor. Anyway, please R&R!**


	4. Onward to the Freedom Fighters!

**Hm… Only a few reviews for the last chapter. A bit depressing, but oh well. Thanks to the people who did review, though! Anyway, chapter four, I believe. Enjoy! .**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, Zuko would be with the "Gaang" already.**

Aang wouldn't stop staring at the mask Katara had found. In fact, it almost seemed like he _couldn't_ stop. She had already asked him multiple times why he had found such an interest in what seemed like a rather insignificant item, but he had shrugged her off each time, saying, "It's nothing."

Katara stuffed the mask into her bag. It was scaring her the way Aang looked at it. She shuddered. The mask, to tell the truth, creeped her out quite a bit. She had never seen this sort before. It's mouth was stretched out in a smile, as were most masks, but it wasn't a normal smile. It was a pained smile. A mocking, pained smile that seemed to be laughing at the fact that she was scared of it.

"Hey, Katara," she heard Sokka say behind her. "I was thinking…maybe _I_ should pack our bags?"

Katara turned around and looked at her brother suspiciously. "Why?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "Oh, no reason." When Katara raised an eyebrow, he added, "I'm just trying to take responsibility for once. I mean, how often do I really help out?"

"You help out a lot, Sokka," Katara pointed out. "You've saved us numerous times, and you come up with great plans."

He shook his head. "But how often do I really donate something to the group itself?"

"You donate a sense of humor," she said, trying to be funny.

Sokka bit his lip. "I'm _serious_, Katara. I don't want to let you guys down."

A pit dropped in Katara's stomach. She knew what this was about. "Sokka, it's not your fault that Suki-"

"Did I say anything about Suki?"

Katara frowned. "Sokka…don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."

"Not my fault?" Sokka threw his hands up in the air. "Not my fault that Suki's in trouble- might even be _dead_? Not my fault that when I was trusted with the task to protect Yue, I _failed_? It's not my fault?"

"Sokka," Katara sighed. "They have minds of their own. You couldn't protect them from every single thing, no matter how much you loved them."

"_Had_ minds of their own," Sokka corrected bitterly. "Before they died. And I still love them, no matter if they're dead or not."

Katara stood up, ready to trust the bag-packing to Sokka. "If you love someone," she said, "you won't give up on them until you know they're dead. If you love someone…you'll have faith." She touched her necklace. "And even if they're gone, they'll always leave a piece of themselves with you."

"Like you and Mom."

Katara nodded. "Like me and Mom."

----

Zuko stood out on the dock that the ship had, well, docked at. Soldiers carried large wooden crates off the ship and placed them on the beach, where young Earth Nation children watched curiously. One of them started running towards the dock, excited to see the ship, but was picked up by a woman, who Zuko decided was his mother, and scolded.

Zuko sighed. Moments like these made him miss _his_ mother. Where was she? Did she miss him the way he missed her? Did she still love him? Alas, these questions would probably never be answered.

As he saw Azula walk near him, he called to her, "I thought we were going directly to the Fire Nation!"

She nodded. "We'll get there soon. However, not far from this little town is another- one that is inhabited by firebenders. We're going there to see if we can pick up new recruits."

"And we won't have any trouble with any rebels?"

"Well," she said, studying her nails. "Not long ago, there was a small resistance of kids that lived in the forest near there. They caused quite a bit of trouble, once even flooding the town. Luckily, the villagers were warned in time, and they all escaped. Since then, they have rebuilt the town, and the kids, for some reason, seem to have disappeared." She smirked. "You know what they called themselves?"

"What?"

"The _Freedom Fighters_."

Zuko felt his blood run cold. Wasn't that…yes, it was. That was what Jet had called his little "gang" of friends. _The Freedom Fighters_. What if Jet was…no, he couldn't be. He was in Ba Sing Sei, wasn't he?

"…Zuko?" he heard his sister ask. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm fine."

"Good," Azula said, starting to walk away. "Then you can start carrying the crates." Zuko wrinkled his nose, annoyed, but obeyed anyway. It would be good to stay on his sister's good side.

----

"So…where are we going?" Katara asked, climbing on to Appa.

Sokka shrugged, and Toph answered, "I don't know. Aang hasn't told anybody yet. All he said was that he wanted to leave."

"Do you think he knows where he wants to go?" she asked worriedly. "He hasn't exactly been himself lately."

Sokka said, "I don't really care where we go, so long as it's far away from the Fire Nation. Besides, Aang knows where he's taking us." He leaned over to help the Earth King climb up. "He's never let us down before."

"Has Aang told _you_ where he's taking us?" Katara asked Kuei. Kuei simply shrugged, then leaned down to help Bosco up.

"He hasn't said a thing to me."

Katara sighed. _I really hope Aang knows what he's doing._

Suddenly, Aang airbended himself on to Appa's head and took hold of the reigns. "Well," he said, turning around slightly. "Since you are all _so_ curious, I'll tell you. We're going to where the Freedom Fighters used to live."

One word popped out of Katara and Sokka's mouths simultaneously: "Why?"

"Well," Aang replied, "If Jet was in Ba Sing Sei, permanently, all the Freedom Fighters must be gone there. There's lots of water and earth there for me to practice with, and we won't be very close to the Fire Nation."

"What about that Fire Nation village?" Sokka asked.

"Don't worry," Aang said, turning away. "They won't bother us."

_I hope you're right_, Katara thought.

**So… I hope you enjoyed! (Oh yeah, and it turns out that it's 'Ba Sing Sei', not 'Ba Sing Se', which is how I thought it was spelled, though that's not really a big thing.) Oh yeah, and please R&R! It means a lot!**


	5. A New Ally

**So, this is chapter five, and, yeah… Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! They really mean a lot!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, it wouldn't take about three months for each season to air.**

Katara woke up and stretched, yawning. She looked around at her friends, who were all sleeping peacefully. Looking up at the sky, she saw that it was still fairly dark, which would be good for her waterbending. As she started to stand up, she wondered if Aang would like to come along as well. "Aang," she said, shaking him slightly, "I'm going to practice waterbending. Would you like to come?"

"Mmph," was Aang's only reply.

Realizing that he was still asleep, she decided to leave him alone. Straightening her hair, she walked away towards the river. They had recently arrived at the Freedom Fighters' former home, and everybody was tired. Everybody except for Katara.

She hadn't been able to sleep well since they had arrived. She had been feeling rather anxious at times, which Toph had concluded came from the thought that Jet used to live there.

Katara leaned against a tree, hugging herself tightly. _Jet_, she thought, _Are you okay? Healthy? Alive?_ A few tears leaked from her eyes as she thought about him._ Is this how Sokka feels about Suki?_

----

"Zuko!"

Zuko's eyes shot open as he heard his sister yelling his name. "What?" he asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"We're going on a little walk," Azula said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "In the woods."

"But it's still dark outside," Zuko muttered, sticking his head under the pillow. Azula tore the pillow off the bed.

"We're going _now_, Zuko," she said impatiently.

Unhappily, Zuko got up. "What for?"

"According to some villagers, there's been some activity going on in the woods lately. Now, nobody ever goes up there, so if it turns out that the Freedom Fighters have returned, we have to stop them before they create any trouble again."

"But why do we have to go so early?"

"Because," Azula said, rolling her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing, "if we go early, they'll probably all be asleep, except for a few guards."

Zuko nodded. "Just let me get dressed, and I'll be right out."

"Good." She left.

----

Katara stuck her finger in the river and twirled it around several times, looking for fish for breakfast. _Wouldn't it be a surprise if everybody woke up to fish for breakfast? They'd all be so glad. Except for Aang_, she remembered, _Aang's a vegetarian. Maybe I'll find something for him, too._

Finally spotting a fish, she created a small spout of water that shot the fish out of the water and towards her head. Shrieking, she threw up her hands and batted it out of the way and back into the water. The fish flew away and Katara, groaning, wiped her hands on her skirt and straightened her hair again.

----

"Did you hear that shriek?" Azula asked, starting to run up the mountain. "Something's definitely up." Looking back at her brother, she hissed, "Hurry up, Zuko!"

Zuko, who had been moving rather lethargically so far, rubbed his eyes once more and started to hurry up. "I'm coming," he groaned, rubbing his hands together and sticking them into his pockets. "It's just _so_ cold," he muttered.

"Deal with it," was his sister's reply. Then she paused for a second before turning to him and saying, "Let's split up. I'll take the right side of the woods. You can take the left."

Zuko nodded and took off.

----

Katara focused all her attention on the fish in the water. She slowly bent the current so it faced the shore, and the fish started to drift towards her. "Come on, come on," she said, gritting her teeth. "Almost there." She almost had it when suddenly something crashed through the bushes. Standing up, she saw what- or rather, _who_ it was.

It was Azula.

----

Zuko heard a shriek from the other side of the woods, and he took off in that direction. As he raced down the side of the river, he could make out voices. First he heard his sister's, saying something like, "Where's the Avatar?", and then another one whose owner he couldn't figure out. Turning a corner, he came to a clearing and saw who exactly it was.

It was the waterbender.

----

Katara backed away slowly. She could handle Azula by herself, but _two_ powerful firebenders were too much for her. Creating a large wave, which she let drop on the two firebending siblings, she took off in the opposite direction.

She heard footsteps behind her –most likely Azula's, as Zuko probably hadn't dodged the wave in time- and she sped up. However, her path was soon blocked by a large tree. She turned around to see Azula gathering up lightning and Zuko not far behind her.

Pointing her finger, which had lightning circling around it, at Katara, Azula asked, "I'll ask you one more time. _Where is the Avatar_?"

Katara swallowed nervously and said, "I already told you. You killed him."

"Liar!" Azula spat. Aiming her finger at Katara's face, she said, "Even so, if the Avatar finds his dear friend dead, it will break his poor heart." She smirked. "And then he'll be too weak to fight."

_That's not true,_ Katara thought, _If I die, Aang will seek revenge. And then he'll be stronger than ever._ But she kept her mouth shut. She waited for the sudden shock of lightning running through her body, but before Azula got the chance to shoot it at her, Zuko grabbed his sister's shoulder.

"Azula," he said, glancing quickly at Katara, "let _me_ do it. I'll do it as a symbol of my loyalty to the Fire Nation." Azula looked at him skeptically, then smiled.

"Good idea, Zuko." She moved aside. "Go right ahead."

Katara's eyes widened, and she suddenly found herself yelling, "You dirty, little-! I can't believe I almost-" But she was cut off as a blast of fire came at her and knocked her out.

----

Zuko bent over the waterbender and placed his fingers on her neck, searching for a pulse. There was one, but it was very faint. He turned back to his sister and lied, "She's not dead- yet."

Azula nodded and asked, "How long do you suppose she has left?"

He shrugged. "Maybe a little less than an hour. But don't worry. Nobody'll come by for at least two. The Sun won't rise for quite a few hours."

"Good. Now come on," she said, motioning for him to follow. "Let's go."

Zuko shot one last glance over his shoulder at the waterbender as he left. _I'll be back._

----

Katara blinked several times, the sudden sunlight blinding her. Shielding her eyes from the Sun by placing her hand on her forehead, she tried to sit up, but a voice stopped her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She looked around frantically, trying to find out who was there, but she saw no one. "Who's there?" she called.

"You have lots of burns on your body," the voice continued, ignoring her. "I tried to heal most of them, but there were some I wouldn't dare try to heal, as it would require me to, well, lift up some of your clothing, which I would definitely _not_ do."

Katara looked around again. That was funny. The voice seemed to be coming from…_above_ her. Hesitantly, she looked up. There, sitting on one of the branches in the tree, was _Zuko_. "You!" she hissed hatefully. She reached for her waterbending, for she had been moved close to the river, and tried to knock him out of the tree with a water whip, but it didn't reach him.

"You can shoot all the water you want at me," Zuko said, not looking down. "I probably deserve it."

"You sure do," Katara muttered through gritted teeth.

"I think you should know, though," Zuko said, fingering a small twig, "that I saved your life back there."

"Saved my life? How?" Katara asked disbelievingly.

Zuko still didn't look at her. "Azula can bend lightning. If lightning passes you through the heart, you're dead. Fire, on the other hand, will give you some time to heal before it kills you. That's why I offered to kill you. Because I knew I couldn't."

She stared at him. "Why would you do that?"

He finally looked down at her, and as their eyes met, he replied, "I've changed."

"Why should I believe you?"

Zuko jumped down from the branch he was sitting on. "You ask too many question. But since you don't believe me, here's your proof." He pulled a scroll out of his pocket and tossed it at her. She looked at it skeptically before he rolled his eyes and said, "It's a _scroll._ It won't hurt you."

Hesitantly, she picked it up and unraveled it. What she saw made her jaw drop. "These- these are Fire Nation war plans." She looked up at him in shock.

Zuko nodded. "I copied them down so I could give them to rebels."

"But why would you do that?"

"I already told you. I've changed." He looked back at the Fire Nation village and said, "I'll have to leave now. I told Azula I'd be walking around the town a bit, but it's been a few hours. She's probably got a few soldiers after me by now." He looked back at Katara. "I brought you near a river so once you woke up, you could heal yourself. But I'm warning you, you've got some nasty burns." He started to walk away. "Sorry about that."

"Wait!" Katara yelled. He turned around.

"What?"

"When will you give us more scrolls?"

Zuko shrugged. "If you stay around, I can give you more soon."

"When should we meet?"

The question was sudden, so Zuko scratched his head and suggested, "What about…this time every two days?"

"It works for me," Katara replied. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Zuko nodded. "Speaking of going, I have to go now. And you should, too. Your friends will be worried." Then he turned and left.

Katara moved closer to the river and began to waterbend. She had a lot of healing to do.

----

"Where have you been?" Sokka asked as Katara came back into camp. "We were worried about you. You missed breakfast, and it's almost lunch."

Katara shrugged. "I took a walk."

"An awfully _long_ walk," Aang commented.

Katara didn't respond. Instead, she curled up in her sleeping bag.

"Katara-" Sokka began.

"I'm tired."

…**and the Zutaraness begins! Sorry about the crappiness of this chapter. I usually do my writing at night, which is when I write best, but I forgot to last night, so I decided to do it today, and, well, this is what I got. Anyway, despite that, this has got to be the longest chapter I've written on _any_ of my stories.**

**So…not much more to say then R&R!**


	6. Sacrifices and Sibling Trouble

**So I haven't updated in a while… Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, here's chapter six…I think…**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, Zuko wouldn't still have his scar.**

Katara paced back and forth restlessly. It was almost midday- the time she'd promised she meet Zuko. Sokka, who had been fiddling with his boomerang, said, "Katara, if you keep going on like that, you're gonna wear out your feet."

Katara nodded, sighed, and sat down. "Alright. Fine."

Sokka rested his head in his hand. "Okay, Katara, what's wrong?"

She whipped around to look at him. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong! Why would something be wrong? I mean-" She stopped as her brother frowned.

"Care to tell me what's wrong?"

Katara gulped. _What should I tell him?_

---

Zuko fiddled with the scroll that held the Fire Nation army's war plans. Anxiously, he looked out the window at the woods. When should he leave?

He closed his eyes and sat down on a comfortable couch in his temporary room, trying to calm himself down. _Why am I so nervous? Hm… Maybe it's because I have to lie to Azula, and everybody knows how hard that is._

He stood up, deciding it was a good time to leave, and exited the room. Then he stepped into his sister's room. Azula was fixing her hair in the mirror currently, and he gulped and said, "Azula, um, I'm going for a walk."

She didn't look at him. "Why?"

Zuko studied the floor. "Oh, just doing some shopping."

Now she looked at him. "You? Shopping? What are you shopping for?"

"Oh, you know…"

---

"You had a _nightmare_?" Sokka asked, confused. "Katara, I don't understand. Why is that making you so fretful?"

"It was scary, Sokka!" Katara insisted. "I-I lost my waterbending abilities! Then I tried to get somebody to help me, but there were no more waterbenders!"

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "_Right_. Katara, I think you'd better rest for a while."

_I'm such an idiot! He saw right through my lie!_ "Hmph. Did I ever laugh at _your_ nightmares?"

"Nightmares? Like what?"

Katara put on a dumb face and mimicked Sokka, saying, "Food _eats_ people!"

"That was a one time thing!" Sokka argued defensively. "Besides, it wasn't a _real_ nightmare. I wasn't afraid of it."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Right. Because that's probably how you view the world. And I'm assuming Momo talks as well?"

Momo's ears pricked up and he made an odd noise. Sokka leaned over to him and whispered, "It's okay. She didn't mean it."

---

"You're getting…instruments?"

Zuko shrugged. "You know…for music night…"

"Zuko, we don't _have_ a music night."

"We should have one! It can be very relaxing!"

There was an awkward moment of silence before Azula said, "Zuko, I think you should go back to your room and get some rest. You're…going crazy."

"Maybe some cool air will help," he suggested.

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "Just don't be gone _too_ long."

---

Katara sat down on the grass near the river and leaned against a tree. _Zuko should be coming soon._ As if it were on cue, a rustling could be heard from farther down the hill, and Katara stood up quickly, hoping it wasn't Azula.

It was Zuko. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized, trying to get something out of his pocket. "I had a sibling to get by."

Katara nodded and sighed, "I know what you mean."

Zuko pulled a scroll out of his pocket and handed it to her. "You might not find much good information in there, but they're still battle plans."

He started to head back down the hill when Katara called, "Zuko!"

Zuko turned, confused. "What?"

"I have some…questions."

He nodded and headed back up the hill. "I suppose I can understand that, but make it quick. I have to be back soon."

She motioned for him to sit down, and he did. Then she asked, "What made you suddenly change your viewpoint of the war?"

Zuko looked down. "My uncle did. He kept urging me to see the wrong in the war, and for a short time, I traveled by myself. It was then that I discovered what the war had done to its victims. It had turned them against each other, torn families apart, h-" He stopped. "But you already know all that."

Katara nodded. "That's happened to me."

"But that's what a war is, right? You have to make some sacrifices to win."

She shook her head. "You don't have to, but you will end up doing it eventually, whether you sacrifice your life, or another sacrifices theirs." She touched her necklace. "It hurts…a lot."

"I know."

Katara looked up at him. "You're from the Fire Nation. What sacrifices have _you_ made?"

Zuko stood up and started to walk down the hill. "More than you'll ever know." This was not a conversation he liked much. "I'll be back in a few days. Until then, goodbye."

**Ugh… This chapter was kinda blech, but…yeah. Anyway, not much more to say than please R&R!**


	7. An Identity Revealed and a Dance

**Sorry for the…-ahem-…slightly late update. I hope this chapter makes up for the filler that I made the last one… Anyway, thanks for all the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, all my favorite pairings would've already happened. ;)**

Katara was leaving camp again. It had been like this every few days or so, and the Gaang was getting suspicious. "What do you suppose she's doing?" Aang asked once she got out of earshot.

"Maybe she's got a boyfriend," Toph said, smirking as she sensed that both of the boys' hearts had started to beat faster due to her comment.

"Not funny, Toph," Sokka muttered.

"Yeah, Toph," Aang added, "I'm sure she's got another reason."

"I dunno." Toph smiled, enjoying taunting the boys. She knew Sokka was extremely protective of his sister, and any girl could tell Aang had feelings for Katara. "It seems very probable, knowing Katara and all."

"Toph, she does not have a boyfriend!" Sokka replied harshly. "As Aang already said, she has her reasons!"

"Whatever you say," Toph laughed, "But don't be too surprised when she-"

"SHUT UP!" came from both boys' mouths simultaneously.

"My, you're awfully protective," Toph commented. "You guys and Katara are like Kuei and Bosco."

She nodded in the direction of the Earth King and his bear. Kuei was hugging his bear, mumbling something like, "Who's a good bear? Who is? That's right! You are!"

As the corners of Sokka and Aang's mouths turned down, Toph added hastily, "Okay, so maybe not _exactly_ like that."

----

Katara sat by the river, a bag she had bought in Ba Sing Sei at her side. She patted it and felt the scrolls Zuko had given to her inside. She sighed. She really needed to come up with some excuse for having Fire Nation war plans so she could give them to the Gaang. There were about seven scrolls or so in her bag, meaning she and Zuko had met about seven or so times, meaning that they had already formed somewhat of a friendship.

Katara smiled at the thought that her words had gotten through to him in the cave. She couldn't stand thinking of him as evil anymore, and after all, boys had such thick heads that it was surprising that even a few of her words had gotten through. She placed her head in her hands and her smile grew wider. _Thank goodness he actually listens._

Her heart started to beat quicker and there came a strange churning feeling in her stomach. Puzzled, she leaned down to the water, cupped her hands, and poured the water into her mouth, hoping to rid herself of the feeling. It was…odd. She hadn't felt this way since she had met Jet. _Am I- No, it can't be. Didn't I learn enough after I fell for Jet? I am not making that mistake again._

She took off her shoes and stuck her feet in the cold water. Where was Zuko? He was later than usual.

----

Several hours had passed and it was growing dark. Katara lay with her eyes closed and her head resting on her bag. _Unless Zuko has a good excuse for coming this late, I am going to murder him._ Just then, she heard footsteps nearby and she sat up suddenly.

Through the trees came Zuko, who was looking fairly flustered. "So sorry I'm late," he said, worriedly sticking his hands into various pockets of his coat, trying to find a scroll. "I had to discuss war strategies with other Fire Nation nobles. As you can see, it went _much_ later than it was planned, and I'm really sorry, because I didn't know, and if I had known-"

"It's okay," Katara assured him, smiling slightly. _Wait! What happened to "I'm going to murder him"? I shouldn't be smiling! He's late! Hours late!_

But the angry voice inside Katara's head was hushed as Zuko blushed slightly and looked at the ground. Then the feeling came back. _No! I am not falling for Zuko!_

Zuko looked up at her with a small smile and pulled a scroll out of one of his many pockets. "Here," he said. "I…I'm sorry to have kept you wai-"

"I already told you. It's okay." She turned to leave. "But my friends will be worried, so I ought to be going back now."

As she began to walk away, Zuko called after her, "Wait! You forgot your bag!" He picked it up and started to run over to her, but as he did, the blue mask that Katara had been carrying around fell out.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I'll get that!" She took the bag from him and stuffed the mask in it. "Funny mask, isn't it? Aang and I fo-"

"Where did you get that?" Zuko's eyes had turned cold as he glared at her.

"Excuse me?" Katara asked, puzzled.

----

"What is taking her so long?" Sokka asked impatiently, pacing back and forth in the camp. "She never takes _this_ long!"

"I'm sure she's fine," Aang said calmly, but Toph could sense that he was just as nervous as Sokka was.

"Guys," she said, an evil smile growing on her face, "I'm sure that wherever she is, her boyfriend is taking _perfect_ care of her."

"SHUT UP, TOPH!"

"Guys, seriously, Katara can take care of herself. She's perfectly capable of it, so you don't need to be so protective."

"Uh, Toph," Sokka pointed out, "I know you can't tell, but it's _nighttime_. She left _hours_ ago."

Toph felt tears start to well up in her eyes. _I "can't tell" that it's nighttime? Thanks, Sokka. Makes me feel so much better about my blindness._ "Fine," she said, walking away furiously and making a tent with her earthbending.

Aang glared at Sokka before following Toph. "What'd I say?" Sokka asked, as usual, oblivious to everything.

----

"I said, 'Where did you get that mask?'" Zuko repeated, still glaring at Katara.

"I found it in a river outside Ba Sing Sei," replied a very confused Katara. "W-"

"It's mine."

"Oh! Okay. Uh, do you wan-"

"No."

"Alright then," Katara said, raising an eyebrow and stuffing the mask into her bag. "You know, you never seemed like someone who was into masks."

"I'm not."

"Then…why do you own one?"

Zuko sat down. "You promise not to tell _anyone_ this?" _You idiot! Don't tell her this! It's secret!_ A tiny voice in his head screamed at him.

Katara nodded and sat down. Zuko took a deep breath and said, "I…I'm the Blue Spirit."

"Huh?"

Zuko pulled a flier out of his pocket and handed it to Katara. "_Wanted_," it said, _"The Blue Spirit. Wanted for treason against the Fire Nation._" Underneath the writing was a picture of the mask Katara had found. "_Large reward for whoever captures him, dead or alive. Be warned. He is extremely dangerous. He carries broadswords and wears this mask and a black outfit._"

"I keep this to remind myself of who I once was," Zuko said once Katara had finished reading.

"I never knew you were talented in broadswords," Katara said, looking up at him.

Zuko shrugged. "There are a lot of surprises in the world," was all he said.

Katara nodded and looked back at the river. "So…what treason did you perform?"

Zuko shrugged. "Well, I kind of kidnapped the Avatar from a prison hold where he was being kept."

"He was in a prison hold?" Katara asked, bewildered.

Zuko smirked. "The day is filled with new surprises for you, isn't it?"

"I can't believe he didn't tell me," Katara sighed, placing her hand on the top of her head. "Anyway, why did you kidnap him?"

"I was going to turn him in myself," Zuko responded plainly.

"I see." Katara looked at him. "Zuko, if you had succeeded in bringing him into the Fire Nation then, what do you suppose you'd be doing now?"

Zuko placed his head in his hands. "Well, I'd be training to be Fire Lord, for one thing. I'd be coming up with battle plans. Seeing as I'm nearly seventeen, I'd probably be married by now."

"Married?" Katara's head shot up. "To whom?"

"Well," Zuko said uncomfortably, not looking at her, "To a Fire Nation noble, that's for sure. Probably Mai or Ty Lee or someone."

"And what would the wedding be like?" Katara asked.

"There'd be food," Zuko said, looking up, "and there'd be dancing-"

"Dancing?" Katara looked at him eagerly. "Could you teach me a dance? Nowadays, we don't have much to dance or be cheerful about in the South Pole, but it looks really fun! So…could you teach me a Fire Nation dance?"

"I'm not much of a dancer," Zuko began, but as his eyes met Katara's pleading ones, he added, "But I'm sure I could try."

"Thank you!" Katara stood up immediately. "Come on!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a moonlit clearing in the trees.

Zuko smiled and said, "Okay, so, first, take my hand."

"Which one?"

"Doesn't matter."

Katara grabbed his left hand with her right.

"Okay," Zuko continued, "Now we bow to each other. Actually, I bow. You curtsy." They did so, and Zuko said awkwardly, "Now I put my other hand on your back…and you do the same."

Katara reached up and placed her hand gently on the back of his shoulder, and he placed his on the middle of her back. "Now," he said, "We basically step in a square shape. So you step back, then to your left, then forwards, and then to your right."

Katara took a step back. "Like this?"

Zuko grinned. "Yep. Like that."

The first few steps were a bit shaky, but after a while, the dance went rather smoothly. Zuko kept commenting about good Katara was for her first try, and each time he did, she blushed slightly, and as she did, he blushed as well.

After they had been dancing for a while, Katara said, "How do you end this dance?"

"Oh, well, the man lifts up the hand he's holding the woman's hand with, and the woman does a twirl."

"Like this?" Katara started to twirl, but tripped over her dress and fell. Zuko stifled a laugh and Katara giggled, "Is that how you usually end your dances in the Fire Nation?"

"No," he said, reaching out a hand to lift her up. "They usually end much more…gracefully."

She pulled herself up. "Like how?" she asked.

"Well, usually, the women do one twirl-"

"Like what I just…attempted."

"Right. And then she reaches out a hand, and, the man…well, he…" Zuko was uncomfortable saying this.

"He what?" Katara asked.

"He…kisses it."

"Okay then," she said, reaching out a hand.

"What?" he asked her, confused.

"We need to end this properly, right?" He nodded. "Then kiss my hand."

"Oh. Right." Zuko blushed. Then he awkwardly took her hand in his, leaned down, and placed his lips lightly on the back of her hand.

Katara restrained the urge to giggle. As Zuko looked back up at her, she smiled softly and shrugged. "I guess we have to leave now. My friends will be getting worried."

Zuko nodded. "That's probably a good idea." Picking up her bag and handing it to her, he added, "I promise I won't be late next time."

"It's okay." She took the bag from him and slung it over her shoulder. Then she dashed off in the direction of camp. "Bye! Thanks for everything!"

Zuko stood there, watching her as she ran. _No problem. Anytime…_

----

As Katara entered camp, she found that Sokka, Aang, Toph, Kuei, and the animals were all sleeping. Quietly, she crawled into her sleeping bag and curled up, finally falling asleep.

Two sleeping bags over, Toph's eyes opened slightly and she smirked. _Yep. Definitely a boyfriend._

**Gosh, I've been waiting to write this chapter for _so_ long it seems. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! And…wow… I put hintings of a fair amount of pairings in it. o.0**

**Anyway, reviews are greatly appreciated, so please, R&R!**


	8. Discovered

'Ello all. Sorry for the huge lack of updates. There's been a lot going on the past few weeks, so if anybody wants to complain about it, they will receive a very annoying reply (From me, of course.) listing all the things I had to do. Anyway, on a lighter note, thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews! They really do mean a lot.

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, would I seriously be writing fanfictions?**

"Are you sure they don't know?"

"Yes. They don't have a clue. What about Azula? Do you think she knows?"

"I don't know if she does. You can never tell with Azula. But seeing as I'm not dead, I guess I can assume that she doesn't."

----

_We should've guessed._

----

"Well, that's probably good," Katara said, "but how am I going to tell my friends that I'm collecting Fire Nation scrolls from the prince of the Fire Nation?"

Zuko shrugged. "I don't know. That's your problem. But," he said, placing his finger on his chin as he thought, "you _could_ tell them that they were left by the Freedom Fighters."

"How do I explain how I keep getting knew ones every few days, then?" Katara looked skeptical.

"I don't know. I was just trying to be helpful, you know."

----

_Explaining was easier than I thought…but not for the right reasons._

----

Katara smiled. "I know. It was a good idea, but," she sighed, sitting down, "I still don't know how I'm going to explain."

"You need to think of an explanation soon," Zuko pointed out. "You know that you guys need those scrolls."

"Don't remind me," Katara muttered, shooting Zuko a dirty look. "It's just…ugh. It's so frustrating!" She placed her head in her hands and sighed again. "I know this is asking a lot, but maybe you could come with me, prove your innoc-"

"No," Zuko said, interrupting her. "That's out of the question. Your friends would kill me before either of us got the chance to explain."

"They would not!" Katara insisted. "Maybe injure you a bit," she added, shrugging her shoulders slightly, "but not kill you."

"You tried to kill me," Zuko pointed out, "and that was after I saved you."

"I did no such thing," Katara argued. "I was only trying to injure you, and besides, I didn't know you had saved me."

"You tried to knock me out of a tree, Katara."

"You knocked me out with fire. I think I had a right to do so."

"But I _saved_ you."

"You only healed a few of my burns," she pointed out.

"Because most of them were _under your shirt_. I wasn't going to take your shirt off, Katara."

"Well, that's one difference between you and Jet," Katara muttered.

"Jet?" Zuko stared at her. "Did you say 'Jet'?"

Katara nodded, confused. "Yeah. He was one of the Freedom Fighters."

"I didn't know that you knew him."

Katara leaned forward towards Zuko, her eyes wide in shock. "_You_ knew him?"

"Yeah. We –my uncle and I- met him on a ferry to Ba Sing Se. He tried to get me to join the Freedom Fighters, but I refused. Once my uncle and I arrived at Ba Sing Sei, we didn't see him for a while. But somehow, he figured out that we were firebenders, and he attacked us, trying to get us to prove we were firebenders. I defended myself with broadswords, and soon the Dai Li came and pulled him away." Zuko looked at the ground. "I don't know what became of him."

"I do," Katara said softly, looking up at Zuko, her eyes wet. "But maybe I should start from the beginning. We met Jet here quite a while ago. We trusted him- well, Sokka didn't. Jet tried to flood the Fire Nation village that's just down the hill, but Sokka warned to villagers in time, and they escaped. I froze Jet to a tree." Katara giggled softly for a moment, then stopped. "We met up with him again later on in Ba Sing Sei. He…had been brainwashed by the Dai Li. Eventually, he remembered that he had been taken to Lake Laogai. We figured that that was where Appa, our flying bison, had been taken. So we went down to Lake Laogai to look for him. We got into this big battle with the Dai Li, and Long Feng, their leader, ended up seriously injuring Jet." She looked up, tears trickling down her face. "We found Appa, but I don't know what became of Jet."

Zuko didn't say anything. Instead, he rested his head on his hands and closed his eyes as he thought. Finally, he opened them again and said calmly, "Isn't it funny how one thing leads to another?"

"Huh?" Katara asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Do you know who let Appa go?" he asked her, eyes twinkling.

"No…"

"I did."

Katara gasped. "_You_ let Appa go? Why?"

"I…don't know," Zuko admitted, biting his lip. "My uncle convinced me to."

"You admire your uncle a lot, don't you?" Katara asked, smiling slightly, despite her wet face.

Zuko didn't respond. Instead, he pulled out a scroll and handed it to her, saying, "We should be going now."

Katara nodded, once again confused. "Alright." She watched Zuko quickly walk away. Then she turned to leave. She had only gone a few steps before she heard a rustle in the bushes not far behind her. She whipped around, and she saw a Fire Nation-made boot step out. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hollered, "Zuko!" at the top of her lungs.

Zuko began to turn around. "Wha-" He never got to finish, as a bolt of lightning struck him in the heart. Zuko fell to the ground without uttering a noise.

Then Azula stepped out from her hiding place. "I always knew Zuko was a traitor," she muttered, looking at her brother. Then she turned to Katara and smirked. "You couldn't hide these little meetings from me forever, you know." A blue spark began to form around her index finger on her right hand, but Katara, tears streaming down her face, created a huge wave out of the river that covered Azula and swept her along with the current.

Then Katara rushed over to Zuko. She kneeled down and felt for his pulse. It was there, but it was very faint. Katara waterbended some water from the river and attempted to heal Zuko's wound. Sweating with exhaustion at the difficulty of healing a lightning inflicted wound, she managed to heal the skin, though she couldn't heal the inside.

There came another rustle in the bushes, and Katara weakly looked up. It was Sokka, staring in shock at his little sister, whose face was wet in tears. There was no explanation needed for now; Sokka lifted Zuko up by the arms and pulled him towards camp.

_We should've known._

**So this was a _really_ depressing chapter. But hey, that's what I get from trying to watch all the Naruto episodes with Sasuke and Itachi in them together on Youtube. Heh…**

**Anyway, R&R please!**


	9. Old Friends

'**Ello. 'Tis me, once again. I updated…later than I thought I would, so please forgive me. I have…been busy…over vacation, which really sucks, so, yeah… Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! They mean a lot!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, wouldn't this have happened in the show already?**

Katara wiped the tears out of her eyes as she helped Sokka pull Zuko on to Appa. Carefully, she lay him down on her sleeping bag and sat next to him, casting fearful glances in his direction. Sokka hopped on to Appa's head and took the reigns in his hands. Aang and Toph came up to the bison and looked up at their friends.

"Are you sure you don't want us to go?" Aang asked, looking worriedly at Katara. "You might need some help finding a doctor."

Sokka shook his head. "You need earthbending lessons, Aang. Katara and I will take him. You and Toph take care of Kuei, okay?"

Aang sighed, "Fine." Glancing up at Katara again, he added, "But both of you be careful." Katara didn't reply, but Sokka nodded.

"We will, Aang." Sokka pulled the reigns tighter and yelled, "Yip yip!" Appa took off flying. Aang watched until they were out of sight. Then Toph took his hand and started to pull him away.

"C'mon, Twinkletoes, we're gonna have some fun training!"

Aang gulped nervously.

----

"Katara, I know what you're thinking," Sokka said quietly as they flew over the trees.

"Really? What?" Katara asked softly, looking sadly at Zuko.

"You're thinking it's your fault that Zuko's hurt," Sokka replied. Katara didn't say a thing, so he continued, "But that's not true. You see, I used to think that it was my fault that Yue was the moon spirit, and that it was my fault that Suki might be dead. But Katara," he turned to look at her, "you convinced me that it wasn't. I think…I think that now you should believe in what you said." He turned away again. "Because I sure did."

Katara felt tears coming to her eyes again, and she looked away to hide it. "But…but you couldn't have stopped it," she said, her voice cracking. "I could have."

Sokka motioned for her to come up, so Katara climbed on to Appa's head and sat next to her brother. He placed his right arm around her neck and smiled, trying to cheer her up. "Just like old times, isn't it?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "Just the two of us."

"A lot has changed," Katara admitted, moving closer to her brother.

Sokka nodded. "A lot." He laughed. "Who'd have ever thought? Who'd have ever thought that of all the people in the world, we'd be the ones dragged along in this mess?"

"It's been hard."

"Sure has. We've been in so many fights."

"Made friends."

"Lost friends."

"Nearly killed ourselves half a dozen times."

"Yep. But it's been worth it."

"It has."

----

"C'mon, Twinkletoes!" Toph yelled at the top of her lungs. "You can do better than that!" She shot a rock at Aang, but he jumped out of the way. "You want to be an earthbender, right? Then stop dodging the earth! That's an awfully stupid thing to do, you know!"

"They're coming too fast!" Aang yelled back, jumping out of the way as another boulder came his way.

"C'mon! Katara's not here to protect you, so you can't get away with that 'gentle teaching' thing now! You're learning _my_ way and _I_ say you learn like this!"

Aang sighed, "Fine, Toph."

"That's Toph-sensei to you, Twinkletoes!"

"Fine. Toph-sensei."

Toph turned around and sat down on the ledge of the cliff they were practicing on. _Twinkletoes is hopeless_, she thought miserably. _I'll never be able to teach him earthbending. He's too soft._

"Toph."

"Toph-sensei, Twinkletoes."

"Toph!"

"Toph-sensei!"

"TOPH!"

"TOPH-SENSE-!"

Something hit Toph in the back. Before she knew it, she was falling off the cliff.

----

"Man, this guy is heavy," moaned Sokka as he and Katara walked through Earth Kingdom streets, him giving Zuko a piggyback ride.

"Shut up, Sokka," Katara replied, shooting him a nasty glare.

Sokka's mouth grew into a wide smile. "Aw, my sister's back!" He set Zuko down for a moment and rubbed the top of his sisters head. "I was getting worried."

"Just go!" Katara replied, clearly annoyed. She marched off.

"Dude," came a familiar voice from behind Sokka, "you have no luck with women, do you?"

Sokka started to turn around. "Actually, she's my si- Haru?"

----

"You know, you really ought to be more careful," Aang said as soon as he caught Toph.

"Yeah, yeah," Toph muttered, clutching on to him. "Just put me back on my element."

"Fine," Aang said, smiling slightly.

"What happened?" Toph asked as they rose back up towards the cliff.

"Momo was being chased by a bird, and, well, he crashed into you."

"Remind me to feed him to that bird," Toph replied crossly. She held him tighter. "Now can we _please_ land already?"

"Um, Toph," Aang said awkwardly, "We already have."

"Oh." Toph stepped on to the ground, embarrassed. "Guess I hadn't noticed." She shrugged, her face slightly red. "Heh…" As she noticed the awkwardness of the moment, she sighed, "I'm…going back to camp. Enough training for today." She quickly shuffled away.

_Good thing she's blind_, Aang thought. It was not the most pleasant thought, but right now, he was grateful for his friend's blindness. He had seen her blush; she hadn't seen him do the same.

----

"Haru!" Katara rushed forward and hugged her old friend. "I can't believe it's you!"

Haru blushed slightly and said, "Yeah. I'm not usually around here, but my father is trying to get earthbenders to join the resistance, and I'm just traveling with him." He looked at the two of them. "Nice to see the two of you again. But…where's Aang?"

"Oh, Aang…" Sokka said. "He's currently…somewhere else."

Haru's eyes widened. "'Somewhere else'? Wait…you don't mean he's d-?"

"No, no," Sokka interrupted him. "He's with Toph."

"So in other words," Katara added, "he's as good as dead."

Haru nodded. "And Toph is…?"

"Earthbender," Sokka replied. "She's Aang's earthbending teacher."

Haru nodded again. "And who exactly is it you are giving a piggyback?"

Sokka and Katara glanced at each other nervously. It would be better to keep this a secret, even to Haru. "Uh…Lee," Katara replied, remembering the name Zuko had told her he had used while he was in hiding. "His name's Lee. He was struck by lightning a little while ago. He needs medical care."

Haru cringed. "Sounds painful, but you know what? I know a healer who'd be happy to help your friend."

Katara's face lit up. "Really? Oh, Haru, thank you!" She hugged him once again. "Could you take us there?"

Haru nodded. "Sure. Come with me."

**So there's chapter nine. Definitely not one of the better chapters, but hey, it has some Taang in it. And yes, I put Haru in it because I love Haru, and I don't want any Haru flaming! And yes, there is some Katara/Haru in this chapter, but this is Zutara, so there's no need to worry.**

**Dsdlr;t' –That was my cat. She ships Zutara, too. Anyway, R&R please!**


	10. Awakening

Sorry for the…er, late update. Been busy lately…once again. :P Anyway, thank you for all the reviews for last chapter. They mean a lot. So… This is chapter ten, I believe. It's a short chapter, but…I wouldn't consider it a filler, so…yeah. XD Just read it. I'm done rambling.

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, Haru totally would not be a one-episode character.**

_Light._ It was the first thing that came to his mind as he blinked sleepily, looking at the ceiling. He yawned, then rolled over on to his side. How long had he been asleep for? He didn't even remember falling asleep. He buried his face in his pillow, and- hold on. He hadn't fallen asleep with a pillow. He hadn't fallen asleep on any bed, for that matter.

Bewildered, he sat up quickly, looking around the room he was in anxiously. Where was he? How had he gotten here? He tried to push himself off the bed, but he felt a horrible jolt of pain run through the left side of his chest, and he immediately stopped, shaken from the pain. Slowly, he lifted his trembling hand up to his chest and placed it there. What he felt was not skin; it was harder than skin. Terrified, he tore his shirt off and looked down.

A bandage covered the left side of his chest, right around his heart. He placed his right hand on it and felt it. _What happened to me?_

A woman's voice interrupted his thoughts. "You shouldn't move around too much. You don't want to reopen the wound."

He looked up at to see an old woman sitting in a chair across the room. Her gray hair was pinned up into a bun, and she wore a long, black apron that covered her blue shirt and white pants. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm the person who just saved your life," the woman replied harshly, shooting him a look, as if warning him to be more polite.

"Saved my life? But-" The woman cut him off with a wave.

"Ask your friends. I don't know much about how you got hurt at all."

"My friends?" He was more confused now.

"Yes. Two of your friends brought you here. Haru brought them, being the great kid that he is."

_But I don't have any friends_, he wanted to say. Instead, he asked, "Which ones?"

"Well, one was a g-" The woman was interrupted, as the door beside the bed suddenly swung open.

"I heard voices. Is he-" A girl with bright blue eyes and loops in her hair turned to look at him.

"Katara…" was all that he could manage to say, as he was currently in a state of shock.

"Zuko!" She ran towards him and enveloped him in a hug. "You're okay!" Her hair brushed along the side of his face, and he soon felt a strange feeling in his chest. It wasn't unpleasant. It was just…nice. Before he knew it, his arms were around her as well.

"Katara…" he started to say, "what happened?"

Katara bit her lip. "Well, Azula found us out, and she came during one of our meetings and…"

Zuko placed his hand on his chest and looked down. "She shot me with lightning."

Katara nodded. "Taiga-san here healed you, though." She smiled and pointed to the old woman.

The woman smiled. "Dear, you don't have to call me Taiga-san. Just call me by my name."

Katara shook her head. "You saved my friend's life, Taiga-san. It's the least I can do to show you some respect."

Taiga smiled once again. "It was no problem, really."

Suddenly, two boys came crashing through the door. "Is he really awake?" came the voice of one.

Zuko studied them. He recognized one, Katara's brother. The other he didn't recognize. "I'm awake," he replied.

Katara's brother nodded. "I'm Sokka, in case you didn't know. This here is Haru. It's because of him and Taiga that you're alive."

"So I've heard," Zuko commented. He nodded at the boy called Haru. "Thank you." He turned to look at Taiga. "Both of you."

Katara placed her hand on Zuko's shoulder. "We all thank you two," she said, looking at them gladly. "We owe you so much."

**Yup, that was chapter ten. I hope you enjoyed…despite the shortness of it. :-/ So…R&R please!**


	11. Just Friends

**Hm… I haven't updated in a while… Sorry about that… But yeah, thanks for all the reviews last chapter! I know I've said this before, but they really do mean a lot! Anyway, without further ado, I give you chapter eleven…. Um…yeah… XD**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, we would have already seen a preview for season three. –pokes Brian and Mike- You do know I'm hinting something here, don't you?**

Zuko sat up in his bed, stretching out his arms as he waited for Taiga to bring in his meal. He wasn't allowed to leave yet, even though he felt fine. Wanting to stretch his legs, he slowly slid off the bed and walked over to the door, opening it and stepping out into the hallway. He sniffed the air, trying to find the kitchen, and he soon figured the smell of vegetable stew would lead him in that direction. His stomach growled, and he headed toward the kitchen.

He soon found it, and it hadn't been hard, as he was in such a small house. Zuko peered through the doorway, as the door had been left slightly ajar, and immediately saw that there was a fruit basket only a few inches away from him. Slowly, he reached for one of the fruit, trying not to be noticed, when…

"Lee! What do you think you're doing?"

Zuko rubbed his head, irritated that he had missed his chance to eat some fruit. "I just wanted some fruit," he groaned.

Taiga opened the door completely and glared at him. "I told you to stay in your room, Lee! If I have to, I'll make Haru and Sokka guard your door!"

"I'm fine, though!" he complained. "I don't understand why I'm still here!"

"Because you need a healer," Taiga told him, stepping away from the door to get a pot of vegetable stew, "and you're going to need to stay here for a little while more." She placed the pot on a counter and spooned it into a bowl. "Here," she said, handing Zuko the bowl, a fork, and a spoon. "Now go back to your room."

"Can't I just eat it he-"

"No."

Zuko sighed and left the kitchen, taking the bowl of stew with him. Turning his head, he asked, "Are you sure?"

Taiga crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. "You know, if you weren't my patient, I'd be threatening to not give you _any_ food."

"Should I take that as a no?"

"Most likely."

Zuko sighed again and turned around, exiting the kitchen once again. As he started to leave for his room, he saw that the front door was open, and a cool breeze blew through the house. _It couldn't hurt…_ he thought. Quietly, he crept outside and settled himself on the porch. Taking his fork, he began to eat the stew.

"What are you doing?"

Zuko nearly jumped. Quickly, he spun around to see who had spoken. It was the boy they called Haru. "I'm…eating," he replied, looking down hungrily at his stew. His stomach rumbled, and he thought, _Will I ever get the chance to finally eat?_

"Didn't Taiga want you to stay in your room?" Haru asked, placing his finger on his chin and looking down at Zuko disdainfully.

"Well, yes…" Zuko admitted awkwardly.

"Then why are you outside?" Haru leaned on the railing on the porch stairs.

_Because I'm a firebender! I need the sun!_ Zuko wanted to yell, but he decided it would be best to keep that information between him, Katara, and Sokka. "Wanted to get some Sun," he replied plainly, shrugging.

Haru nodded and sat down next to Zuko. "Alright." Placing his chin in his hand, he asked, "So what's Katara been up to?"

Zuko nearly spit out his stew in his shock. "What?" he asked, coughing on one piece he had almost inhaled.

Haru turned to look at him. "How's Katara been? I haven't really gotten the chance to talk to her since you guys came, so I was wondering if you knew what she's been up to."

"Oh." Zuko looked at his bowl, not really wanting to answer the question. "She's been…fine, I guess. I haven't really known her that long… Why? Do you two have something together?"

"Oh, no," Haru said, shaking his head quickly. "It's more of a…friend relationship." He smiled a little, though, and Zuko felt his stomach growl louder than before.

Haru focused his eyes on Zuko. "Do you guys have a-"

"No, no," Zuko said, waving his hands in front of him defensively. "Just…friends. Like you guys."

"Right." Haru nodded. "Friends."

The two of them sighed sadly.

----

"I'm telling you, Katara, we can't trust him." Sokka picked up a branch that had fallen on the ground and piled it on top of others in a large wheelbarrow.

Katara knocked down another branch off the tree with a water whip and turned around to face Sokka. "Don't make me use my water whip on you," she snapped at him, irritated.

"Fine, fine," Sokka sighed. "But when he turns on us in the middle of the night…"

"Sokka! Shut up!" Katara marched up to her brother and stared him in the face. "For the last time, Zuko is not out to get us! Why else would he be secretly giving me Fire Nation battle plans?"

"They might be fake," Sokka argued.

"Then why would Azula nearly kill him?"

"It was set up."

"Why would Azula nearly kill her _brother_ in a _set up_?"

"Hey, I wouldn't put it past Azula to do that."

Katara crossed her arms. "Listen, Sokka, whether you want to believe it or not, Zuko _is_ on our side. And I trust him completely." She marched over to the wheelbarrow and took one of the handles. "Now come on. Taiga is probably wondering when we're going to get back with firewood."

"You like him, don't you?"

Katara flushed red. "N-no…" she stammered. "Well…o-only as a friend…"

"That's what I meant." Sokka took the other handle.

"Oh, well, yeah," Katara said. "We're only friends."

_Only friends…_

----

"Why is Lee still in his room?" Zuko heard Katara ask from outside his door.

"Because," replied Taiga sharply, "he disobeyed me…again."

Zuko heard Katara sigh loudly, "Again? I'm so sorry. Can I go see him? Knock some sense into him…?"

"I can see no problem with that. Go right ahead."

The door to Zuko's room creaked open, and Katara walked in, arms crossed. She closed the door and sat down on a chair located at the foot of Zuko's bed.

"What do you want?" he asked her, placing his hands behind his head lazily.

Katara frowned. "I know you heard us. You know what I'm going to say."

"I can't stand being locked up here," Zuko groaned. "I don't like being treated like a little kid who has to stay inside at all times. I feel better now. I really do."

Katara looked down sadly and replied calmly, "Zuko, just do as she says. It's the b-"

"The best? No, Katara, it's not." Zuko banged the top of the table to the left of his bed. "I can't be cooped up here, Katara! I can't be treated like a child!"

"You're acting like a child right now!" Katara shot back at him. "We only want the best for you!"

Zuko remained silent for a moment and looked to the side. Then he looked back up at Katara, who had been doing the same. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "It's just…"

"I know." Katara looked back up at him, her eyes twinkling in sadness for her friend. "We'll leave as soon as we can."

She got up to leave, and Zuko grabbed her hand. She looked down at him, confused, and he whispered, "Thank you. You're a good…you're a good friend."

Katara smiled sadly back at him. "Thanks, Zuko. You…you are, too."

Zuko's heart sunk for a moment, though it was unknown to him why it did. Quickly, Katara left the room and Zuko settled back down into bed.

Katara closed the door quietly and leaned against the wall next to it. A single tear fell from her eye and she quickly wiped it away, sniffing.

_I like him so much…_

Meanwhile, Zuko lay in his bed on his side, squeezing his pillow sadly. Unhappily, he buried his face in it, trying to fall asleep.

_I like her so much…_

----

_But will we ever be more than just friends?_

**So… Chapter eleven… Hope you enjoyed! Oh yes, and as always, please R&R!**


	12. Goodbyes

**I'm…updating…finally. It seems I update late (For my time zone.) on weekends nowadays. But hey, if I had my way, homework would be nonexistent and I would be able to update more often. But…-sigh-…I've got no control over that, so I'll just have to deal with it.**

**Anyway, as always, thanks for the reviews! They're what keep me updating. Anyway, here's chapter twelve…**

**Oh yes, and this is the second time I've put this chapter up on here, 'cuz fanfiction was being annoying and didn't let anyone who didn't have a direct link read this chapter. So... I uploaded it again.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, you'd probably be able to tell… **

"And don' you let that boy reopen his wound," Taiga told Katara and Sokka, wagging her finger at them warningly. "Because I am _not_ treating a patient like that again."

Zuko frowned. "And I am _not_ having a doctor like that again."

Katara giggled, "I see you two got along well." Then, taking her pack off Taiga's counter, she said, "Well, I suppose we really should be going now."

Sokka nodded. "We should. Aang and Toph must be pretty worried by now. We _did_ promise them we'd be back in a few days." Taking his sister's shoulder, he led her out of the house.

Zuko started to follow, but Taiga called, "Lee! Hold on. I'd like to talk to you a private for a moment." Motioning to Katara and Sokka, she said, "You two go on ahead. He won't be long."

Zuko, confused, followed Taiga into the kitchen, where he asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

"What I wanted to talk about is," she took a pot and filled it with water, "I will keep your secret," she placed the pot on the stove and turned around, smiling, "Zuko."

----

"Katara!" someone called from around Appa.

"Huh?" Katara peeked around Appa's humongous form to see Haru, who stood awkwardly with his hands behind his back. "Oh, Haru!" She smiled. "We're just-"

"Leaving. I know." Haru looked at Appa, upset. "I just…wanted to say goodbye. You know, since we're…friends and all."

Katara nodded, her smile fading. "Yeah. I didn't really…want to say goodbye, though," she admitted, looking away sadly. "It seems…whenever we say goodbye…it's painful."

Haru sighed, "I know. That's why…that's why I got you something to remember me by."

----

Zuko marched forward, ready to use firebending if needed. "How do you know who I am?" he demanded, his eyes glaring into hers.

Taiga smiled again, not a hint of worry on her face. "I saw your wanted poster soon after I started treating your wound."

"Then why didn't you turn me in?" Zuko asked, confused.

"I wasn't into the money," she replied, turning around and turning on the stove. "Especially not money from the Fire Nation. I don't want to be affiliated with the Fire Nation in any way." Taiga opened a drawer and pulled out a box of tea bags. "Most of the patients I've had –including you, Zuko- were injured by the Fire Nation."

"Then why did you decide to keep treating me?"

"Because you're different, Zuko. Tell me- have you _ever_ killed someone?"

----

Haru shyly pulled a flower out from behind his back.

"Oh, Haru, it's beautiful!" Katara clasped her hands together and bent down to get a better look at it.

"Yeah." Haru smiled and placed his hand behind his head nervously. "It's called a Panda Lily. It only grows on volcanoes, so you don't see it very often. I just got it at a flower shop, though."

Katara gently took it from him and placed it in her hair. "Well," she said, "whether you got it from a volcano or a flower shop, I don't care. I think it's beautiful either way."

---

Zuko looked away. "There was Zhao…and then…and then…there was…_Mom_…"

Taiga shook her head. "But knowing you, Zuko, you didn't kill them."

"I may not have," Zuko admitted, "but I'm just as bad as anybody else in the Fire Nation."

"How so?" Taiga placed the tea bag in a small cup.

"I…I'm a traitor." Zuko looked down. "I'm a traitor to…everything. To the Fire Nation, to my Uncle, to…everyone.

Taiga shook her head, pouring the now hot water into the cup. "You may have done those things at some point, but trust me on this: you are _nothing_ like the rest of them." She took a sip of the tea. "Did you know…I used to work out on the battle field. I've seen how firebenders act, Zuko, and they are merciless." She nodded to him. "You should know. Your own father-"

"I'm going," grumbled Zuko, starting to leave.

Taiga sighed. "Alright. But just to let you know…I _will_ keep your secret."

Zuko paused in the doorway, but didn't turn around. "Thank you."

----

Slowly, Katara leaned forward to give Haru a peck on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered. "I hope we see each other…again. Soon."

"Same back," agreed Haru. "I just w-"

"For goodness sake, would you two please just stop saying goodbye? It's not all that hard." Sokka sat on Appa's head, clearly annoyed. "Listen, as soon as Zuko gets out here, we're going, so you two better hurry up."

Katara turned to Haru and smiled. "Sorry about him. Anyway… Bye."

Haru gave a sad smile. "Bye." He waved as Katara climbed on to Appa.

----

Zuko stood in the doorway, staring at Haru. _She…kissed him…_

**So…yeah. Hope you enjoyed, and, well, R&R!**


	13. The Reunion

**So… I'm finally updating. Thank you **_**so**_** much for not chopping off my head about the lack of updating. D I'm really sorry about it, but my life has been taken over by two new fandoms: Wolf's Rain and Wajas. And now…I'm starting to read Bleach…and it's really good… -slaps self- No! No more fandoms until I start updating more often!**

**Anyway, here's chapter 13. Hope you like it! D**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, I probably would be a lot busier, and I probably wouldn't update at all.**

Sokka eyed Zuko suspiciously as he held Appas reigns in his hands. They all could tell he didn't trust the young firebender, and Zuko, annoyed with Sokkas distrust of him, met his gaze evenly, not flinching. Katara sat across from Zuko, her arms crossed angrily.

"Why can't you two just get along?" she finally sighed, exasperated. The two boys turned their heads to her, still glaring at each other out of the corners of their eyes.

"What are you talking about, Katara?" Zuko asked. "We're getting along _perfectly_."

"Yeah," Sokka agreed, nodding his head. "We haven't said a bad word to each other as long as we've been flying."

"You haven't said _anything_ to each other since we've been flying," Katara groaned, placing her head in her hand. "But you've been shooting each other plenty of dirty looks instead."

Sokka and Zuko forced themselves to smile. "We wouldn't do _that_, Katara," Sokka said, still smiling stupidly. Zuko nodded his head rapidly to show his agreement.

"You're doing it right now."

The boys frowned. Sokka turned back to steering Appa while Zuko rested his head in his hand and looked out below him. They remained silent for several minutes.

But the silence was soon broken by Sokka.

"We're here."

----

"They're here!" came Aangs excited call. Toph quickly stumbled out of the tent she had made out of rock.

"They're here? Really?" Toph hugged herself. "That means Sokka's coming back1" Aang raised an eyebrow at her, and Toph quickly continued, "And Katara….and Appa…" She gave a fake smile.

Aang nodded slowly, his eyebrow still raised, but turned back to watch Appa land anyway. Toph glared at him. _Why are you looking at __**me **__like that? __**You're**__ the one that always swoons over Katara after she takes her hair out of her loopy…things._

But she turned her attention to the massive vibrations Appa created as he landed. A single cry rang in the air. "We're ba-ack!"

----

Katara jumped off of Appa's back and ran toward Aang, who in turn, enveloped her a hug. "Katara, you're back!" He pulled away from her and gave a wide smile. "I missed you…_guys_ so much!"

Katara laughed and wiped away a few tears that were gathering in her eyes. "Aw, Aang, it's so nice to see you again!"

Toph frowned from where she stood. "Hey!" she called. "Have you guys suddenly forgotten me?" Sokka jumped off Appa and ran over to put his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, how could we forget _you_, Toph?"

Katara nodded as she hugged Toph as well. "We were so lonely without someone to constantly insult us," she laughed.

Sokka left them to give Aang a friendly slap on the back. Aang nearly fell over, but shot Sokka a smile anyway. "Nice to see you, Sokka."

Sokka grinned at him. "Back to you, Aang."

Zuko stayed motionless on Appa, hoping that they would forget he was there, but ever so slowly, all eyes turned to him, their gaze burning through his skin and making his stomach churn.

Katara finally broke the awkward silence. "Guys, this is Zuko," she said, rubbing her head.

"We know," came the unenthusiastic, unanimous reply.

Toph stepped forward. "I'm Toph," she told Zuko, her expression unreadable. "I've heard plenty about you, and I'm sure you've heard of me, too, but I don't recall every having a conversation with you."

Zuko nodded and jumped off of Appa. Slowly, he walked over to her as she stretched out a hand. Awkwardly, he took it and shook it several times before pulling away.

Toph frowned. "Katara told me you were injured, but she didn't tell me how bad it was. I'm surprised you even survived that attack by Azula. It's almost directly on your heart."

Zuko backed away. "How did you-?"

"Your chi is a bit off around there. I saw that-"

"You can _see_ chi?"

Katara sighed and rolled her eyes. This conversation was going to take a long time to finish.

"Yeah," Toph said. "I see by the vibrations in the ground. So whenever you take a step, I can sense some of your chi. Because I can't use my eyes to see, this is how I get around."

"You're _blind_?" Zuko asked her, shocked. "I would never have guessed." Just then, something temporarily stopped him from talking. "Is there a bathroom around here?"

Aang blinked oddly, and Toph pointed to the woods. "It's…there."

Zuko groaned, but went into the woods anyway. Katara stared after him. "You know… Now they he mentions it…I think I have to go, too."

Sokka glared at where Zuko had left. "Well, then I'm going, too." He followed her into the woods.

Toph stared at Sokka. "I think…I have to go, too," she said, following him.

Aang stared after the others before running after them. "Hey, guys, wait for me!"

----

"Well, this is certainly awkward…"

----

**So… Hope you guys enjoyed! I know it's not the greatest, but, still…**

**Also, I realized there was a problem with the last chapter, in which many people couldn't access the page. I tried to fix the problem by submitting the chapter again, but if the problem is still occurring, please tell me about it, and I'll put the link to it in my profile to see if that works.**

**Next update should come soon, though. Or, at least, sooner than this one took. …Have I mentioned how **_**awesome**_** you all are for not chopping of my head about it?**

**Anyway, please R&R!**


	14. Let's Talk About Firebenders

**What's this? An update? Gosh, this must mean I'm actually alive! Who would've thought?**

**No, I'm not dead, though it may have appeared that way. I know I claimed that this update would be coming sooner, but I had end-of-year tests, a Bat Mitzvah, a lot of relatives (I still do have a lot around my house.), and my parents kicked me off the computer while I was in the middle of this chapter. So…please forgive me.**

**I think this is chapter 14, so…enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If you're this far into this story, you probably know by now that I don't own Avatar, never have, and never will.**

Aang sat on a small rock near Appa. "I don't see why we have to leave," he moaned. "I like it here."

Katara rolled her eyes as she rolled up her sleeping back. "Toph says you're doing well with your training now. Since the Fire Nation is nearby and you don't need all the space to practice earthbending anymore, we're going to a new town- with less firebenders than here."

Zuko, who had returned from collecting fruits, shot her an annoyed look, which she returned. "Oh, come on," she groaned. "You _know_ I didn't mean you."

"Sounded like you did," said Sokka, smirking. "I know I would've if I had said it."

Katara's cheeks blushed red in annoyance. "Hold on a moment, will you?" she told the others. She marched into the woods, dragging her brother by his sleeve. She pushed him up against a tree and whispered fiercely, "Why are you being so rude to Zuko?"

"Because he's not trustworthy, Katara. Remember, he's a firebender."

"And since when does being a firebender matter? Aang once told me he had a lot of friends who were firebenders."

"I don't care." Sokka pushed Katara's hands away and started to walk away. "He's from the Fire Nation. I know I'll never trust him."

"He's having a hard enough time without you!" Katara yelled at him. "He feels guilty about his uncle's imprisonment! He feels guilty about what his nation has done!" She found herself crying, and she lowered her voice. "He carries so much on his shoulders. Do you know anything about him at all?"

Sokka turned to face her, his eyes narrowed. "The question is…do I even want to?" Turning back away, he muttered, "It was because of firebenders that our mother died. It's because of firebenders that you haven't seen our father in years. It's because of firebenders that Yue died, because of firebenders that Suki might be dead. It's because of firebenders that this whole stupid war was started."

"But you can't judge him just because he's a firebender!" Katara angrily pointed out.

"I'm not judging him, Katara." He paused, turning around to face her once again. "I'm stating a simple fact."

----

"So…" Aang began. "When are you going to teach me firebending?"

Zuko looked at him, surprised. "Teach you firebending? That…never even crossed my mind."

"Well," Aang said, shrugging, "it _does_ make sense for you to teach me, seeing as you're the only firebender willing to teach me who hasn't mysteriously disappeared."

Zuko nodded. "I guess that does make some sense."

"So you'll teach me?" Aang asked excitedly, airbending himself onto the ground. "Great! Let's start!"

Zuko smiled slightly. "How about we start practicing once we start leaving?"

Aang cocked his head to the side. "Are you sure that's really safe?"

"Positive. When we're in the air, you can't destroy anything on the ground."

"…"

----

Zuko was seated at the back of Appa's saddle, Aang in the middle, facing him. Toph and Katara sat along the sides, and Kuei and Bosco sat at the front. Sokka sat on Appa's head, holding the reigns.

"Alright," Zuko said, looking at Aang. "Here's how all young firebenders learn. First, close your eyes." Aang closed them. "Second," Zuko continued, "cross your legs." Aang did so. "Finally, cup your hands together in your lap."

"Now what?" Aang asked eagerly. "Do I try firebending without looking or something?" Toph and Katara both looked at Zuko, terrified.

"Please don't," Katara mouthed.

Zuko smiled. "No. Now you keep doing that."

"WHAT?" Aang opened his eyes, annoyed. "That's what Jeong Jeong made me do! You're just as bad as him."

"I told you, this is how _all_ young firebenders learn. This is how Azula learned and how the Fire Lord learned."

"I'm sure you would know," Sokka muttered from the front. Zuko ignored him.

"This is how my uncle and I learned. Good meditation is the key to firebending. Stress will prevent you from good firebending, and meditation will get rid off that stress for you." His eyes shined as he stated, "Until you have mastered the turmoil inside you, you cannot truly be a firebending master."

"Trust him," Katara said, looking at him. "He knows what he's talking about."

Aang sighed, but closed his eyes again anyway. Toph leaned back on her sleeping bag and closed her eyes, too, trying to catch some sleep. Kuei was already asleep next to Bosco.

"So," Zuko asked Katara quietly, "where are we going?"

"I forget the name of the village," Katara admitted, "but it's not too far. We've been there before. With luck, we'll get there by tomorrow. It has a volcano nearby, so Aang can practice both earthbending and firebending there." She looked at Aang, who had fallen asleep while meditating, and looked back at Zuko. "You'll have to train him hard- and fast. We have little more than a month until Summer's end."

"Ah, yes." Zuko nodded. "I heard that you're planning a raid on the Fire Nation."

"Not only that," sighed Katara. "At the Summer's end, a comet-"

"Sozin's comet." Zuko closed his eyes for a moment. "Of course."

Katara's eyes widened. "How do you know about Sozin's comet?"

"The Fire Lord's been planning using it for years. Did you really think I didn't know about it?"

"Well, I didn't think the Fire Lord really shared his plans with anyone except his officers."

"He doesn't." Zuko smiled as he said, "Azula and I used to sneak in to read his plans all the time."

Katara covered her mouth and laughed softly. Zuko raised an eyebrow, and she giggled, "I'm sorry, but it's funny to imagine you as a kid. I mean, I've known you only as a teenager. It's hard to imagine you as anything else." _Not that I'd want to._

Zuko smiled slightly. "I guess it would be," he admitted.

"Can you imagine me as a kid?" Katara batted her eyelashes slightly.

"Actually, yeah." Zuko laughed, then stopped. Katara wasn't laughing. He gulped. "Tha-that's not a bad thing. I mean it's just not hard to imagine you as a kid since you are one-" He stopped as Katara raised an eyebrow.

Katara crossed her arms. "Oh. I see."

"What?" Zuko spread out his arms, confused. "What do you see?"

"Well, I just didn't realize that I was an immature kid."

"That wasn't what I said at all!"

"Definitely sounded like it," Katara huffed. "Well, kids need their sleep, so I guess I'll get some." She turned away and laid down on her sleeping bag. _Am I really just some dumb kid to you?_

----

"Well, we're here," Sokka announced as they landed. Katara peered over the side of the saddle.

A large group of merchants gathered in the center of the small town, trying to sell their goods. The kids could've sworn they had heard someone yell, "My cabbages!" in the distance.

"How did we get here this quickly?" Katara asked, looking at her brother.

He smiled and shrugged. "I guess the wind was just blowing in the right direction."

"Or we flew the whole night without stopping," Katara said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It's possible." He tried to hide a yawn.

"I've never seen you so eager to come to this village." She jumped off Appa. "Anyway, you and Appa must be tired. You can wait here while the rest of us try to find a place to stay."

Aang leaped off Appa and landed in front of you. "Maybe we should go consult Aunt Wu. I have a pretty good feeling about what she'll tell us." His mouth turned into a wide smirk.

"I want to go with you guys," Sokka said. "That woman can say some fishy things. I want make sure that whatever she says about your futures doesn't go to your head."

Katara groaned, then wondered aloud, "I wonder if she'll remember us."

------

Meng's giggling, the villagers' silent stares, and Aunt Wu's reluctance to come out told them that the whole village remembered them. Soon, she stood in front of the group. She squinted and stroked her chin.

"I remember some of you. You," she pointed to Katara, "are the one who's overly obsessed with her love life." Zuko peered over at Katara. Aunt Wu pointed at Aang. "You're the one who finds it fun to meddle around with my book of clouds. And you," she said, pointing to Sokka, "are the one who doesn't believe anything I say."

"That's not true!" Sokka argued. "If you told us where a near hotel is, I could probably believe you."

Aunt Wu shook her head, agitated, and pointed at Zuko, Toph, and Kuei. "I've never seen any of you before. Hopefully you're not quite as irritating as your friends." She peered closer at Zuko. "Hold on… I recognize that scar. I think I've seen you before."

The rest of the group stared at Zuko. "You've been here before?" asked Aang.

"Oh, come on," Zuko said, crossing his arms. "You're underestimating my tracking skills. I used to follow you _everywhere_ you went. If you came here, it's likely I did too."

"Would any of you like your fortunes told?" Aunt Wu asked.

Each member of the group looked at each other. "I suppose we could…real quickly. We could go to a hotel later," Katara spoke for the group.

Aunt Wu smiled. "Good. Who would like to go first?"

Katara was the only one who didn't step back. She shrugged. "I guess I'm first…again." She followed Aunt Wu into the room.

"I…have to go for a bathroom break now," Aang said, biting his lip."

"Thanks for announcing," Toph muttered, lying back on the floor and popping a small snack from Aunt Wu's food bowl into her mouth.

Kuei was leaned back against the wall. Sokka was scarfing down the food in the bowl. Zuko wandered about the room, hands in pockets. Aang still hadn't come back.

"What's taking Aang so long?" asked Zuko to no one in particular. "I'm going to the bathroom, too, so he better get out soon." He left the room.

"This is why I hate traveling with boys," explained Toph. "Everything's just so…out there." She shuddered.

Zuko found Aang with his ear pressed up against the door to the room Aunt Wu and Katara were in. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Aang jumped in surprise, then turned to face him. "Um…nothing. I was just making sure this door was stable enough. Wouldn't want an accident, you know?"

"Or you were listening in on Katara's fortune." Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell anyone?" Aang began to leave, but looked at Zuko with big, begging eyes.

"Don't worry. I just have to go to the bathroom." He smiled innocently and Aang left. He started to head toward the bathroom, then stopped. _Wait a moment… Listening in on Katara's fortune. Why didn't I think of that? She's probably talking about her love life, in which case…_

He pressed his ear up against the door. He heard Aunt Wu say, "Ah, I can see he is even closer now."

"My future husband? Really?" came Katara's excited voice.

"Yes," said Aunt Wu. "And you have already met him. I have told you he is a powerful bender, correct?"

"Yes! Can you tell me what kind of bender he is? Maybe that would give me some sort of clue."

"Hm… I can try." She paused, then said, "He has the bending movements of both a firebender and a waterbender. Other than that, I can't tell anything."

"Oh," Katara sighed disappointedly. "It must be Aang, then, since he's the Avatar, and…the only one who can firebend and waterbend."

"But he's not the one who you love," Aunt Wu guessed. "It's someone else."

"Yeah. I mean, I do love Aang. He's my best friend. But I don't love him romantically." She sighed. "But I guess that doesn't matter. One way or the other, I'm marrying him." Zuko heard her stand up, and he hid behind the door as she opened it. "Thanks, Aunt Wu," he heard her say.

She jumped back as she closed the door. "Zuko? What are you doing here?"

"I was…coming back from the bathroom, and you…er, hit me with the door…" he lied.

"Oh. Sorry." Katara looked away. "I guess you're next, then."

Zuko shrugged. "I guess." He opened the door and walked in. The room was not what he would have expected. A small fire danced in a circle of rocks. Aunt Wu sat on the other side of the fire.

"Come in, come in," she said, smiling. Zuko sat down on a small cushion across from her. "Let me see your hand," she told him.

Zuko awkwardly put out his hand, which Aunt Wu turned over to look at his palm. "You're a firebender, aren't you?" she asked. He nodded, and she said, "Tsk, tsk. You all take such bad care of your palms."

"Excuse me," he mumbled, "but do you see anything about…_love_?"

Aunt Wu smiled and sighed, "You teenagers and your young love." She peered closer at his hand, and traced one of the creases in it. "There is…one more love in your life. One that will last a long time. I can see that she, too, is a bender." She looked back up at him oddly. "She's a waterbender. You don't happen to be a waterbender, too, do you?"

Zuko looked at the ground sadly. "No, I'm not. But…tell me, do you see anything about an old man in my future?"

"An old man who drinks an excessive amount of tea? He's all over your future."

Zuko looked back up at her, shocked. "So he's okay? Thank you. Thank you so much, Aunt Wu." He stood up and left quickly.

He marched into the room, appearing content. "Next," he announced.

Aang, Toph, and Kuei had their turns quickly. Aang came back looking disappointed, but he wouldn't say anything about his time in there. Toph came back with a neutral expression, but she didn't say anything, either. Kuei came back looking relieved, saying that Aunt Wu had told him that his kingdom was, for now, fine.

Aunt Wu came into the room soon. "I suppose that's all of you. Now, instructions to a nearby hotel-"

"Hold on." Sokka stood up. "You still haven't told my fortune yet."

"I've already told you. Your life will be filled with pain and misery, mostly self-inflicted."

"This…this isn't about me. This is about someone else." He held out his palm to her. "Do you see someone in my future? She's a warrior. Wears a lot of green."

Aunt Wu looked at him, then at his palm. "I see a girl who wears green. She's in armor. But…she's not in a very good condition right now. I'm afraid I can't see much past that."

"But she's alive?" Sokka looked at Aunt Wu hopefully.

"Yes. She is alive. But not well. Not well at all."

Sokka looked a bit relieved. "Suki…" he whispered quietly.

Aunt Wu told them of a close hotel that accepted animals. As they began to leave, Aunt Wu tapped Sokka on the shoulder. He turned, and she told him, "Maybe your life will not be as miserable as I thought."

Sokka gave her a small smile, and the group left.

**Gosh, I hate the end of this chapter so much. It's just…blah. Anyway, please R&R! Thanks for reading!**


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